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House Peleps
Other Houses are not fond of House Peleps, as they generally see it as a House of cheats, liars, matchstick men and manipulators. While the Empress approved of this behavior, the other Houses do not. Unfortunately, with the utter destruction of House Iselsi, no other House is so prepared to manage the Imperial Navy. In their defense, members of House Peleps are staunch supporters of the Realm, the Immaculate Order, and the Empress. While they might take advantage of other Dragon-Blooded, or even whole other Houses, they would never knowingly do anything to weaken the Realm or its institutions. On the contrary, the House is known for the extraordinarily cunning naval tactics that it uses to defend the Realm’s interests on a daily basis. MASTER(S) OF THE HOUSE House Peleps is led by a married couple. Cousins from distant ends of the family, both Dragon-Bloods are as cunning and difficult to oppose as the element they embody. Block them one way, and they rush to find another angle of attack, like a rogue wave. Both Peleps Febaris and her husband, Peleps Taxin, are clever politicians; both have been long-term and effective members of the Deliberative. They reared their many children in an environment of aggressive competition. Those who succeeded, by whatever means, gained their parents’ approval and were rewarded. Those who failed, whether through simple inability or ethical hesitations, were ignored or subtly punished. The pair encourages trickery and back-stabbing, as long as the House itself (or at least its Dragon-Blooded members) suffers no harm. This, they believe, is the best way to train their family for a life in Realm politics. Many Peleps do, indeed, become key ministers and even Senators in the Deliberative. Many became magistrates as well when the Empress was still naming them. Their approach to leadership in the larger context of House Peleps is much the same. Advancement within the House is directly proportional to one’s cleverness and willingness to rewrite (or blatantly ignore) the rules. MAJOR LINES Offshoots of House Peleps pop up all the time as young families either try to show how well they’ve mastered the family’s tactics or escape its constant high-pressure political machinations. Most Peleps households last only a generation and then disappear, as either interior conflicts rip the young household apart or other Great Houses slap them down for excessive conspiring. Still, some households have made it long enough to be considered fairly well established. All Peleps households are aspected toward Water. -THE PELEPS NAJALIN HOUSEHOLD The Najalin household is the oldest and probably most respected household of the Peleps. Najalin is the daughter of Peleps and founded her household on the principles of competition, respect, and self-discipline. Though some of the other Peleps sneer at Najalin’s household, it easily holds its own. The vast majority of Dragon-Blooded in this household attend the House of Bells and take command of a vessel in the Imperial Navy within a few years after graduation. -THE PELEPS KAIZOKU HOUSEHOLD At any given moment, most of this household is out to sea. Peleps Kaizoku and most of his offspring are privateers—pirates tasked by the Realm with preying on enemy vessels, but without being an official tool of the Realm. Publicly, the Realm decries the actions of the Kaizoku; privately, it makes sure no one ever actually catches them. The Realm sends in the Kaizoku privateers in situations when actions by the Imperial Navy would be too politically awkward. The Kaizoku clan is effectively the unloved and illegitimate little brother of the Imperial Navy. Using its fast, light Shogunate ships, the Kaizoku household preys on ships from the Skullstone Archipelago as well as the pirates of the southwest and makes a very good living by doing so. Peleps Kaizoku is married to Mnemon Kuvon, and while the household is small, their line boasts the best Exaltation rate of any pairing in House Peleps. The household operates out of two large manses: one on a hill outside of the Eye of Creation and one First Age manse on the sea floor to the southwest of the Blessed Isle. ECONOMICS House Peleps has no problem keeping its coffers full. It receives a respectable sum for maintaining the Imperial Navy (which the House commands) and from its political endeavors and constant maneuverings with and against the other Houses. The Peleps are constantly offering political and legal aid to other Houses in return for political support, joint investments and marriage arrangements. Peleps has no tributaries that are not coastal countries, so it can bring the might of the Navy against any tributary that withholds payment. Smuggling and crime both seem to come all too easily to members of this House as well. Yet, while many Peleps households seem to have a hand in some manner of criminal activity—from smuggling to extortion to arranged assassination—all Peleps are careful to confine their criminal activities to the Threshold, lest they cast a shadow on the House’s naval operations or political machinations. GOALS AND ALLIANCES House Peleps sees every advantage in establishing short-term alliances but none in committing to one ally for any excessive period of time. It is impossible to predict with whom the House will forge, or break, ties next. Members of House Peleps are rigorous about keeping their word, but they are exceedingly careful about how they give their word in the first place and particularly cunning in the wording of their agreements. If they haven’t very specifically promised to do something or given their word to do something, then they don’t consider themselves bound. Still, those who do give their word can be counted on to keep it, and that’s pretty much the only reason the other Houses are still willing to enter into agreements with House Peleps. All of the other Houses have entered into significant business dealings with House Peleps at some point. Some need naval support for a military campaign, others need the powerful political support of Peleps in the Deliberative, and still, others need access to Peleps’ criminal contacts in the Threshold. All Houses know better than to expect a long-term Peleps alliance, however. Its agreements with House Cynis notwithstanding, there is no way the Guild could do business in the Realm if House Peleps did not allow it. House Peleps is the undisputed master of the Inland Sea, after all. Although Peleps does not invest much effort in maintaining ties to the Guild, bribes from the Guild account for a respectable portion of the House’s revenue. ILLUSTRIOUS DYNASTS OF THE HOUSE PELEPS DELED As an Immaculate monk, martial artist, and leader of the Wyld Hunt, Peleps Deled is a true force of nature in the Realm—despite what others point to as his egregious lack of true wisdom. He describes himself as one of the few truly orthodox members of the Immaculate Order. Others, however, call him a sadistic zealot who uses his faith as an excuse to beat down others over minuscule differences in the interpretation of the Immaculate Texts. Deled is a ferocious but focused combatant and a relentless hunter. He can hold his own alone, but he also makes excellent use of the cooperative nature of Terrestrial Charms. He stops at nothing to see that his prey is destroyed, regardless of the quarry’s power or any other mitigating circumstances. If Deled has compassion in his heart, it is for the children of the Realm, whom he wishes to indoctrinate into the Immaculate Philosophy as he was.